Maidaan, a social edutainment platform raised an undisclosed amount in a Pre-Seed Round led by Inflection Point Ventures and EvolveX.
We Founder Circle also participated in the round. The funds will be utilised primarily for driving product development, innovating content, games, and tournament formats.
Maidaan is a peer-to-peer edutainment platform hosting LIVE, bite-sized olympiads, and tournaments for school children. It aims to make exposure to peers beyond school affordable and accessible for 100 million plus Indian students from an early age.
Founded in October 2022 by Judhajit Bal and Shashank Awasthi, this platform has set out to redefine entertainment for 12.
“With a vision to make interaction with peers beyond school affordable and accessible, it aspires to empower over 100 million Indian students from an early age,” the company said.
Rahul Wagh, managing director, Inflection Point Ventures, says, “Today when everything is digital, our education still relies on outdated methods and uninspiring textbooks. Maidaan addresses this by integrating learning into interactive games and quizzes, challenging the conventional notion that education is limited to the classroom. By breaking down the boundaries between learning and gaming, With Maidaan, children can seamlessly blend education with play. It shows a bright and promising future not just to kids but to investors as well.”
Commenting on Maidaan’s potential, Bhawna Bhatnagar, co-founder of EvolveX, expressed, “For most of the students, the first taste of competition beyond school walls occurs at a national level. Being unprepared for this reality results in an unpleasant shock, fostering self-doubt and a lifelong fear of competition, which hinders progress in a competitive life thereafter. Parents are well aware of this challenge but lack easily accessible means to alleviate this fear. Maidaan seeks to transform this narrative by providing every aspiring individual with a stage to discover themselves. At EvolveX, we are committed to supporting Maidaan in this mission through continuous assistance, mentorship, and guidance.”
The company added that the pilot version of Maidaan has successfully engaged students from over 100 schools spanning 25+ cities in India. The platform has initiated strategic annual and quarterly collaboration plans with schools, with Pune as its initial focal city for expansion.
Judhajit Bal co-founder and CEO of Maidaan, says, “Beyond the top 5 per cent elite in India, millions of students don’t get a chance to experience a world beyond the walls of their schools before Class 12, reducing the potential of social mobility. The only way to solve this is to make exposure-beyond-school truly accessible and affordable in a language and format that students understand and speak themselves. We’re thrilled to have IPV &EvolveXonboard and backing us to solve this.”
The start-up claimed to have achieved remarkable milestones, growing its user base tenfold to over 2000 users. The platform has secured pivotal strategic collaborations with schools on annual and quarterly levels, all while maintaining exceptional engagement and robust user retention rates on the platform.
